accomplishment, but we still have more season left. Sp

“I can tell you here now: He will go right to the top, right to the very top. Paul Molitor Brewers Jersey . Hes got everything thats needed to be a top midfield player. His attitude is first class, hes got strength, he can play, he can pass it and he can score goals,” prophesized Harry Redknapp. Its fall 1996, a West Ham supporters summit and a clearly agitated Redknapp had just been taken to task for selecting then-18-year old Frank Lampard ahead of other more experienced players. Lampard had made his debut in West Hams starting XI away to Arsenal just a few months earlier. Substituted in a losing cause, Lampard would feature in only 13 matches during that 1996-97 campaign. It was a season in which he picked up more yellow cards than he scored goals. Redknapp knew full well even back then West Ham had unearthed a gem. So likely did his assistant coach and ex-teammate at West Ham, Frank Lampard Sr. Playing in an era of outrageously inflated transfer prices Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri was astute back in the summer of 2001 to pay West Ham £11m [$20m CAD] to acquire Lampards services. "Hopefully I can test myself against the best players in Europe and we can contest for trophies,” Lampard was quoted as saying at the time. Three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, a Europa League and Champions League crown later, Lampard has decided his Chelsea playing days are now behind him and on his own terms. Although still under contract until June 30, the clubs all-time leading scorer (211 goals) made the announcement to coincide with Englands arrival into Miami. Lampard wants to be fully focused on what will be his third World Cup Finals. Amassing close to 600 appearances, only two players have ever appeared more times in a Chelsea shirt. over the course of his 13 seasons Lampard is without exception one of Chelseas greatest ever players. Not wanting to name him their best ever, the tribute on the clubs web site strongly implied Lampard was their best ever midfield player. It was Lampard who scored both goals in the game against Bolton in April 2005 which handed Chelsea their first title in exactly 50 years. Breaking the club scoring record which had stood for over four decades towards the very end of the 2012-13 season Lampards most important goal for the club occurred in the second leg of the 2008 Champions League semi-final in a game against arch-rivals Liverpool, which I was very privileged to attend. Lampard was not even expected to play that day. He had recently missed a pair of Premier League games to be at the bedside of his gravely ill mother, who sadly passed away a few days after the first leg. Play though he did, the Chelsea players wore black arm bands in memory of Lampards mother. The tie was very delicately poised after the first leg at Anfield had finished 1-1. Chelsea with the away goal were slight favourites going in, but Liverpool had got the better of Chelsea twice at this stage in 2005 and 2007. Didier Drogba opened the scoring, for Fernando Torres to level it just after the hour mark. Extra time loomed, it was a very highly charged Stamford Bridge. Less than 10 minutes into extra time after Michael Ballack was bought down in the area Chelsea were awarded a penalty. Up stood Frank Lampard. Hands on his hips, he stood at the edge of the box and waited for what must have seemed like an eternity as Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina did his best to delay and distract. Lampard was having none of it. The ref blew the whistle, and with that trademarked run up to the ball he sent Reina the wrong way as he slotted the ball into the far right corner. Lampard took off for the opposite corner flag, and took with him the hearts of the 40,000 plus Chelsea supporters inside Stamford Bridge. As he got close to the corner flag he slowed down to remove his black arm band, then with his hands covering his face Lampard slumped to his knees. Joined by his teammates, there was no celebration when Lampard emerged with all emotion completely drained from his face. On running back to the halfway line Lampard looked up in the direction of where his dad and other members of his family were gathered. He waved and blew a kiss to them. The match finished 3-2 and Chelsea were off to their first Champions League Final. Away from the pitch Lampard is an all-too-rare breed when it comes to English footballers. Intelligent, staunchly working class, he attended a private high school where he was one of the more promising students. Not everyone aced Latin, Lampard did. In 2009 Chelsea conducted IQ tests on the playing squad. Although the club did not officially reveal the results it was reported Lampard scored over 150. That places him in Bill Gates territory. In March this year Lampard launched the BPLs annual childrens reading challenge held each season in conjunction with the National Literary Trust. Lampard disclosed his favorite book was a biography on U.S. President Abraham Lincoln... All 900 pages of it. Lampard the family man was also to surface shortly after 2009s highly published break-up with his fiancée, Elen Rives the mother of his two children. A London radio station talk show host openly criticized Lampard on the basis of a newspaper article which had quoted Rives. So incensed by the inaccuracy of the hosts comments Lampard called in live to the show and put the record straight in a conversation which lasted 10 minutes. I cant imagine there would be too many other BPL players who would take such initiative. Petra Cech referred to Lampard as one of the most influential players of all time in the Premier League. Make that on and off the pitch. Hell be dearly missed at Chelsea. When he met the press ahead of Englands World Cup tune-up on Wednesday he said he would return to Stamford Bridge to attend matches. Lampard lives within walking distance to the ground. Abramovich has offered to keep a job open for him. On June 20 Lampard will turn 36. Having already played Italy and Uruguay by then, Englands fate in the group stage may already have been decided. Lampard will walk away from the international arena at the conclusion of Englands World Cup. Chelsea, and Englands loss will be MLS gain. Noel Butler can be reached at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca Twitter: @TheSoccerNoel TSN Radio is an official licensed radio broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Action gets underway Thursday, June 12 with Brazil vs. Croatia. Kick Off is at 4pm et /1pm pt. Travis Shaw Brewers Jersey . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. Chase Anderson Brewers Jersey . The Jays responded to the three-spot Detroit placed on Casey Janssen the evening before with an attack on the Tigers Achilles Heel, its bullpen, tying the game in the ninth and winning the game in the 10th. The result absolved Marcus Stroman, brilliant once again, of a tough luck loss while at the same time robbing Max Scherzer, brilliant once again, of a deserved win. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/1209y-christian-yelich-jersey-brewers.html . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third.(SportsNetwork.com) - If Jim Ross were getting ready to broadcast the Cincinnati Bengals next game, the famed wrestling announcer might say: Business is about to pick up. When the Bengals welcome Denver to Paul Brown Stadium for Monday Night Football, its with the stark realization that Johnny Manziel will be turning into Peyton Manning over a one-week span. Thats the equivalent of a basic arithmetic test followed up by one on advanced calculus. Its going to be a big shift, safe to say, Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis admitted. Its a challenge. (Manning) gets everyones attention in this building right away. The player he is, how he carries himself, how he runs things on the field -- its going to be a great challenge for us. Challenge may be an under statement because the Bengals have never beaten Manning whether he was in Indianapolis or Denver, compiling an 0-8 mark when the five-time MVP is lined up opposite them. Cincinnati inched closer to its fourth consecutive postseason berth in Week 15 when plenty of money signs were flashed but none coming from the player associated with the gesture, Manziel. The Cleveland rookie quarterbacks first career NFL start was as dismal as it gets and the Browns were whitewashed, 30-0, by the AFC North-leading Bengals. Jeremy Hill had 148 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries and Giovani Bernard amassed 79 yards on the ground for the Bengals (9-4-1), who produced points on each of their first four drives and remain a half-game ahead of Baltimore and Pittsburgh in the division standings entering Week 16. Cincinnati can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Broncos and it can earn the AFC North crown with a win coupled with losses by the Steelers, who play Kansas City on Sunday, and the Ravens, who are at Houston. Were still in control of everything, said quarterback Andy Dalton. We know these next two games are going to be big. The way our division is going, everyone keeps winning. We know what were facing. Dalton completed 14-of-24 passes for 117 yards with one interception against the Browns as Cincinnati won its fourth straight road game to tie a club record. Denver, meanwhile, already punched its ticket to the postseason dance by winning the AFC West for a fourth straight year after downing San Diego, 22-10, in Week 15. Now the Broncos are focused on a first-round bye and the top spot in the AFC. Denver will clinch the mini-vacation with a win over the Bengals but needs to win out and hope New England loses one of its final two games to claim the top spot in the conference. Hindered by a bout with the flu and temporarily sidelined by a thigh injury, Manning got plenty of support from his Broncos teammates against the Chargers. Manning briefly exited the game late in the first half and produced a modest 233 yards with a touchdown, but five Connor Barth field goals and a strong defensive effort helped Denver sew up another division crown. Its a tough division to win, so it feels good, said Manning. All it does is guarantee you a spot in the playoffs, but at least you have a shot. The Broncos limited San Diego to 288 total yards, with the Chargers failing to mount a sustained rushing attack with top back Ryan Mathews out with an ankle injury. Demaryius Thomas caught six passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while C.J. Anderson added 85 rushing yards on a workmanlike 29 carries. All that really matters now is winning, said Thomas. Manning completed 14-of-20 attempts one week after he threw for a season-low 173 yards and had a streak of 51 consecutive games with a touchdown pass halted against Buffalo. The Broncos won that game, too, though. Manning was shaken up while blocking Chargers linebacker Donald Butler on Andersons third-and-goal run that was initially ruled a touchdown, then overturned on review. When the five-time league MVP hobbled, Broncos head coach John Fox opted for Barths 19-yard field goal. Brock Osweiler directedd Denvers next series, which ended in a quick three- and-out, as Manning received treatment in the locker room. Wholesale Brewers Jerseys. The Broncos lead their all-time series with the Bengals by a significant 19-8 margin and have won four straight, the last of which was a 31-23 triumph in November of 2012 when Manning threw for 291 yards and three TDs. Both teams have had their troubles on Monday nights with Denver compiling a 29-36-1 mark over the years and Cincinnati being even worse at 10-20. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Manning and the Broncos offense have taken a step back from their 2013 performance, perhaps the best statistical season in NFL history, when Denver became the first team to pass the 600-point barrier. That said, when you look up, the numbers remain staggering as Manning is third in the AFC with 4,143 passing yards and even better with 37 TD passes (second in the NFL) and a 106.4 passer rating (tops in the conference). The veteran now has an NFL record 14 career 4,000-yard passing seasons and headlines an offense that is fifth in the NFL in both yards (400.7 yards per game) and points per game (29.1). If anything the group has become more well-rounded in recent weeks because of the emergence of the ground game and Anderson, who is averaging 135.3 scrimmage yards per game (812 total) with six total TDs (four rushing, two receiving) over the past six games. The receiving threats remain as good as any in football led by Thomas, who has 1,389 receiving yards and leads all AFC receivers with 41 TD catches since entering the league in 2010. His running mate, Emmanuel Sanders, has a career- high 1,261 yards and seven TD catches over his past nine games. The Cincinnati defense looked like world-beaters against Manziel but has taken a significant step back overall without Mike Zimmer, now the head coach in Minnesota. The Bengals D entered last weeks contest 25th in the league and are now 20th after dominating Manziel. The 25 number is probably more indicative of where they belong because facing a QB who isnt ready to play in the NFL is an anomaly and certainly not what Cincy will be up against on Monday night. Dalton has been inconsistent this season so the strength of the Bengals offense is the running game, which is clicking now that Bernard is healthy and the rookie Hill is getting more comfortable week by week. The Cincinnati running game has been averaging 145.3 yards per game over its past four games. That shapes up as strength versus strength, though, because the Denver defense is second in the NFL. allowing only 71.6 yards per game on the ground. Overall, Jack Del Rios stop unit is one of the most improved in the league and is fourth overall, surrendering 309.4 yards per game. The two stars of the unit, Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, come off the edge and the Broncos are one of only two teams with two players that have recorded 10 or more sacks (Miller 13, Ware 10). We have to get through this game before we have any opportunities at January, Lewis said. Its been (a playoff mentality) for the last seven weeks. Preparation and how you go about it, and the confidence of knowing what to do and how to do it allows you to play fast. Thats the most important thing, for us: to play fast, to play physical, to play smart. OVERALL ANALYSIS The Bengals are 13-2-1 in their past 16 regular-season home games but one of those losses and the tie came in their past two as the host. With the air of invincibility at Paul Brown Stadium diminishing and Mannings history of success against Cincinnati, its tough to pick the Bengals here. Its our goal (to win the Super Bowl) every year, Fox said. Everybodys hope and dream before the season is youll be hoisting that championship trophy. We got close last year and came up short. Obviously, (the AFC West championship) is a great accomplishment, but we still have more season left. Sports Network predicted outcome: Broncos 27, Bengals 21 ' ' '